On December 12 of the third year of Jianwen, Zhu Di swore to march south, at this time there was no official army in the north that could stop the Yan army, Sheng Yong, who had lost his troops and lost generals, had not yet recovered his vitality in Dezhou, and He Fu's 50,000 southern soldiers were not able to withstand the cold and were stationed outside the city of Jinan.

Half a month later, the Yan army avoided the defenders of Zhending and Dezhou, and penetrated into Shandong into Huaibei from the gap between the two, and Zhu Di sent Li Yuan and other generals to lead thousands of cavalry to reconnoiter the movements of the officers and soldiers and clear the road.

The weakness of the official army was somewhat unexpected by Zhu Di, and the former army general Zhu Neng first defeated Jia Rong, the commander of the official army, in a battle, killing 700 people and capturing 2,000 soldiers and horses.

Li Yuan's 800 cavalry sneak attack from Dezhou to cross the river north to the command of Ge Jin's 10,000 people, the officers and soldiers dismounted to cross the river, put the horses in the back, seeing that Li Yuan also dismounted to invite battle, the officers and soldiers saw that the Yan army was small, and they couldn't help but be a little contemptuous, Ge Jin roared and took the lead in rushing over, Li Yuan led people to turn around and retreat, and the officers and soldiers who were eager to make meritorious contributions chased after them.

At this time, the two hundred Yan troops infiltrated behind the enemy to kill the guards, and let all the horses go, Li Yuan immediately began to counterattack, the officers and soldiers retreated back, and found that the horses were gone, and the army was in turmoil for a while, Li Yuan led the troops to take advantage of the situation to kill, and beheaded more than 4,000 in a battle, many sergeants drowned, and many horses fell into the hands of the Yan army, and Ge Jin was only spared.

The two battles and two victories made Zhu Di extremely happy, especially Li Yuan, who broke 10,000 troops with 800 troops, made great contributions, and the officers and men of the department were praised, and the military academies below the command of the former army were all promoted to one level.

Knowing that Sheng Yong's troops were only thirty or forty thousand, he was unable to invade Hebei at all, and the general Qu Neng died of injuries and illness, Chen Hui went to the northwest to recruit troops, and Tie Xuan was trapped in Jinan City. Zhu Di, who had no scruples, then led his troops to march south, conquered Guantao, crossed the Wei River to Dong'e, pulled out Dongping, trapped Wenshang, looked all the way to Kejie, bypassed Confucius's hometown Qufu, and broke through the important town of Dongping in two days, and the defender commanded Zhan Jing's army to be defeated and captured, and Zhizhou and other civil officials fled without a trace.

Zheng Hua, a small official in Dongping, who was demoted in the early years of Jianwen, and others stuck to the urn city and fought to the death. After the city was broken, he went on a hunger strike for five days and died.

On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. The Yan army captured Pei County, and Yan Zhenqing's descendant Zhi County Yan Huan left a desperate poem and killed himself by his old father's side. Liao Ziqing, the main bookkeeper, and Huang Qian, the classic history, swore not to surrender, and the two went to the trouble calmly.

The Yan army continued to attack Xuzhou. The general Wang Cong attacked Xiao County. Zheng Shucheng, the magistrate of the county, was martyred. Xuzhou is the throat of the north and south. The soldiers in the city are well fed, and it has always been easy to defend and difficult to attack.

For some reason, the high-flying Yan army did not bring a powerful new artillery. Zhang Fu's Shenji battalion was left in Hebei.

Therefore, despite Zhu Di's repeated use of stratagem, he failed to take Xuzhou, and after staying for a month, he left for Suzhou, which was the hometown of King Yan's maternal grandfather, King Xu, whose surname was Ma, and was the father of Queen Gao's Ma.

Seeing that Suzhou was close at hand, Zhu Di warned the soldiers of the whole army that there was an ancestral cemetery and should not be harassed, because Zhu Di had always claimed to be the son of Queen Gao, and once again strictly ordered his subordinates and the people to do nothing, and sent the capital to command his son-in-law Li Rang to pay tribute to the prince of Xu.

Suzhou also did not resist, the Yan army through Suzhou led Xuzhou soldiers and horses to chase, leaving all to command Jin Ming to meet the enemy, Jin Ming set up an ambush by the river, but accidentally alarmed the official army, the official army immediately launched a counterattack, Jin Ming saw this and hurriedly led the troops to flee back to the other side of the river, the defenders of Xuzhou saw the Yan army leave, no military order had to be helpless to return.

The Yan army continued to advance to Mengcheng and was stationed at the Vortex River. Tie Xuan learned of King Yan's intention to advance south, and mobilized defenders from many places to hastily organize 40,000 people to intercept him.

In order to win the hearts and minds of the people, the 80,000 Yan army rarely plundered the people's grain, and the supplies in the rear could not be delivered, so they were almost eaten with the food they carried, and they had been in ambush for many days without seeing the traces of the officers and soldiers, and the generals could not hold their breath and asked to return to the army, but Zhu Di resolutely disagreed, and vetoed the proposal to transfer Dalian Xu Hao to lead a fleet full of supplies to come to support.

Five days later, the Yan army, which had run out of food, defeated 40,000 officers and soldiers, killed 20,000 officers and soldiers in Xiaohe, captured the generals Ding Liang and Zhu Bin, and the remnants of the officers and troops retreated to the south bank, ushering in Sheng Yong's main force of 40,000 people, and joined forces.

The Yan army obtained the grain left by the official army and was able to fill their stomachs, while the official army had no food and had no choice but to pick wild vegetables to satisfy their hunger.

On the 22nd, there was a fierce battle between the two armies at Qimei Mountain, there were casualties on each other, and suddenly the fog was thick, and it was difficult to distinguish between the enemy and the enemy on the battlefield, so the two sides collected their troops and returned to camp.

Sheng Yong felt that the strength was inferior to the Yan army, and adopted the tactics of step-by-step, digging trenches every day to resist the Yan army, and often built a good trench overnight The trench was about to be completed, so he had to give up the army to chase the Yan army forward, and when the Yan army lined up, he had to hurriedly retreat ten miles to continue digging, so the soldiers were exhausted and their combat effectiveness was greatly affected.

On the other hand, the Yan army did not dig trenches or build barracks when it marched, but only distributed the troops, and the halberds were used as gates, so the soldiers could get enough rest.

However, Sheng Yong did not let the Yan army take any advantage, calmly commanded and calmly responded to the battle, and firmly contained the enemy with a tired army. Unless Zhu Di is ruthless in a decisive battle, he will not be able to help the officers and soldiers.

The Yan army drove southward and penetrated deep into the central area of Gyeonggi, encountering increasing resistance. The tired and hungry Sheng Yongjun finally got the food supply from the surrounding prefectures and counties after half a month, and the follow-up reinforcements came in a steady stream.

At the same time, Xu Hao arrived in Beiping by boat, and was furious at the strategists and officials who had lost the news of King Yan, angrily accusing Gu Cheng and other generals of being incompetent.

Xu Hao left Xie Jin and Yang Shiqi behind, and said to Zhu Gaochi and Yao Guangxiao: "Just sitting stupidly? Do nothing? ”

Zhu Gaochi smiled bitterly: "When my father left, he strictly ordered to hold Beiping, what else can I do?" ”

Xu Hao said angrily: "It's been nearly three months since the troops were dispatched, what if the lone army is defeated?" At least send a military horse to help in the war and provide military food and grass. At the moment, no one in the Quartet can threaten Beiping, and sitting here can only prove that you are incompetent. ”

Zhu Gaochi frowned and said, "Who can you send without a military order?" You have to guard Liaodong, I have to stay in Beiping, do you want Gao Sui to go? ”

"I can't take care of it urgently, please stay with the master and the two adults." Xu Hao said again: "Assist Gao Sui to guard Beiping and control Liaodong, and let's go south together." ”

"You?" Zhu Gaochi was suddenly surprised.

Xu Hao said: "Uncle is undoubtedly desperate this time. Either the Jingshi is captured or the whole army is destroyed, there is no other possibility. Think of such an important juncture, can you still stay in Beiping and do nothing? Victory! Gao Xi's prestige will override you, and I don't need to say more about the difficult situation you will be in the future, even if your uncle can escape back if you are defeated, the 80,000 elites who have lost it will not be able to make up for it. If you are determined to inherit the throne, then you have to make a choice. ”

Zhu Gaochi only felt that his heart was pounding, this remark meant that everyone had opened the skylight and said something bright, Yao Guangxiao's identity in front of him could be transcendent, and the other three were the most supportive of his henchmen. Xu Hao is right. You have to make a decision right away, or you will lose the support of those below.

Zhu Gaochi's legs and feet were inconvenient, his body was wide and fat, and he struggled and smiled bitterly: "Then I will give you a military order, and you can't go south?" ”

Xu Hao felt very disappointed. Leng said: "Yes." But what about Gao Hee replacing you? I'll help you save Gao Xi's life. But after Gao Xi became the crown prince, what should I do to save you? ”

"I see." Zhu Gao's white and chubby round face was dripping with sweat, and at this moment, Yao Guangxiao suddenly nodded slowly. Immediately made him refreshed, gritted his teeth and said, "The family is tired of the three adults." ”

Soon, Zhu Gaochi ignored the dissuasion of civil and military officials and his mother's disapproval, leaving his third brother Zhu Gaosui, who was fiercely opposed, in Beiping, and went to Cangzhou with Xu Hao's 5,000 men, and ordered Zhang Fu's Shenji battalion to go south to Dezhou by boat.

Fifteen thousand musketeers, especially Xu Hao, who was armed to the teeth, were all the latest flintlock muskets, with 100 rounds of paper shell bullets and sharp bayonets per person, and the supplies were continuously transported through the Mu Hui fleet, and their combat power was much stronger than that of the Shenji battalion soldiers who were equipped with a large number of muskets and arquebuses, although the accuracy of the arquebuses was better than that of the smoothbore flintlock pistols, but it was far inferior to the rifled flintlock muskets of the full 2,000 of them.

Of course, fighting a war cannot be based on whether the weapons are good or not, and it is an indisputable fact that most of Xu Hao's soldiers are not good at fighting without the Divine Machine Battalion. But together, it is probably the most terrifying combat force in the world, plus Xu Song's battle-hardened artillery battalion, it effortlessly captured the weakly defended Dezhou City.

In the barracks of the Yan army, which was confronting the officers and soldiers, the weather was getting hotter and hotter, and the most difficult thing for the northern soldiers to adapt to was the humidity, which made everyone physically weak, and it was easy to get sick if they were not accustomed to the water and soil.

On this day, the generals came to the tent of King Yan one after another, and mentioned to Zhu Di to withdraw the troops, on the grounds that the lone army was deeply engaged with the enemy, and had lost the sharpness of surprise. In addition, there is a lot of rain in Huaidi, and the Yan army is afraid of heat, and once a large-scale plague, malaria and other epidemics occur, the consequences may be unimaginable.

Zhang Yu suggested: "There are many cattle and sheep in the east of the small river, and the two wheat will be ripe, and the food inside and outside the city is sufficient, it is better to cross the river and choose a place to camp, rest the people and horses, watch the enemy move, and the way of perfection is also." ”

Faced with the generals' requests, Zhu Di couldn't help but feel anxious, he hadn't been disarmed for a few days, and he looked very haggard.

I didn't expect the generals to be so afraid, and couldn't help but say angrily: "There is no advance or retreat in the army." He said that he couldn't bear to explain and cheer up, and finally said: "This king deliberately led his people from the south, and the thief army has many soldiers from the south, and they have been working outside for a long time, so who is not homesick?" If they can be defeated, then they will return to their hometowns, how can they be together? ”

Many old and rough generals nodded frequently, but Zhang Yuzhu Neng and a few others heard that King Yan was deliberately sophistry, if he said that he was homesick, and the Yan army was far away from his homeland, wouldn't he be more homesick?

At this time, no one dared to dismantle the stage, Zhu Di said: "At present, the official army relies on the surrounding counties to receive help, where is there enough food for 80,000 or 90,000 people?" As soon as the small river was crossed, the morale of our army was slack, and the thief's food and salary had reached the Huai River, which was not far away. If the enemy receives sufficient food and grass and the army recovers, it will be difficult for our army to fight with him for a long time. Now we should take advantage of their fatigue and cut off their food routes, so that they can sit in trouble and succumb to them without a fight. ”

Zhu Di emphasized: "Our army has gone deep, and the benefits are already in me, and we must not be delayed, and we must tolerate thieves." ”

At this time, the big guys came back to their senses, and it was a taboo for the lone army to go deep into the art of war, but the prince insisted that the situation was favorable, how could it be? Everyone has led the troops to fight a tough battle for three years, and even if they don't know a single big character, they already know the art of war without a teacher.

Seeing this, Zhu Neng and Zhang Yu stood up to support Zhu Di's opinion, and the generals saw that the two of them echoed the prince, even if they disagreed in their hearts, they were silent.

The victory or defeat of the war is often in an instant, and food is undoubtedly the lifeblood of the army.

If Sheng Yong wanted to move the army to receive grain and grass, Zhu Di personally led the army to follow, ordered the rangers to disturb the official army during the day, and sent warriors to attack the camp at night, so that the officers and soldiers could not rest, and they had to be forced to divide the troops to protect the grain, and the Yan army was not tired?

Zhu Di has not been disarmed for more than a month, and the whole person is like a savage, but in this way, he seems to be more close to the people, and the soldiers continue to insist.

On 25 April, the official army slowly moved to Lingbi and joined up with Chen Hui's 20,000 northwest cavalry, hoping to drag down the Yan army in a protracted battle.

At this time, the imperial court sent 50,000 stone of grain and grass, 300,000 taels of military salary, and ordered the governor Chen Yu to lead 60,000 soldiers and horses to escort them along the way.

He Fu's 80,000 people came secretly, and Zhu Di, who was unaware, prepared to lead the elite to a sneak attack. (To be continued......)